New York-based e-commerce company Casper is opening its first Canadian headquarters, and officially producing made-in-Canada mattresses, putting it in more direct competition with Endy.
“Expanding our operations in the region allows us to meet growing demand across the country.”
The new Canadian headquarters is the company’s first official location outside its two Toronto retail stores, but will also be located in Toronto. Along with this recent announcement, Casper also stated it is adding Dani Reiss, president and CEO of Canada Goose, to its board of directors.
The company first announced plans for its new headquarters and in-Canada manufacturing last April. Now, the company’s two most popular mattresses, the Casper and Essential, are now being made in Canada and are available for shipping in all provinces and territories.
“Casper’s continued investment in Canada helps accelerate our vision of becoming the world’s largest end-to-end sleep company,” said Philip Krim, Casper co-founder and CEO. “Expanding our operations in the region allows us to meet growing demand across the country and increases our ability to produce best-in-class products, bringing better sleep to more Canadians.”
Casper, which was founded in 2014, is one of the biggest competitors to Toronto-based mattress-in-a-box company Endy. The Canadian company, which achieved two-year revenue growth of nearly 3000 percent between 2015 and 2017, was acquired late last year by Sleep Country Canada for $89 million CAD.
“Endy has built strong customer loyalty and a relevant Canadian brand in just three short years, positioning itself as market leader in a very competitive e-commerce space,” said Stewart Schaefer, chief business development officer at Sleep Country.
Endy co-founders told BetaKit last year that while Endy received a lot of interest in terms of acquisitions and VC investment, the company was initially not actively seeking an acquisition, as it wanted to remain in the Canadian market. Endy was slated to generate $50 million CAD in revenue last year, while Capser recorded more than $400 million USD in revenue (comprising all sales, including those in the US) for the same year.
In February, homegrown Endy entered the brick-and-mortar retail space, partnering with Urban Barn to allow customers to test out the mattresses in physical stores.
“Around the world, Canadian-made products are recognized and trusted for their superior quality and performance,” said Reiss of Casper’s move into Canadian manufacturing. “As a lifelong advocate for Canadian manufacturing, I am thrilled that Casper will now be producing products in Canada.”
Vice president and general manager for Casper, Nicole Tapscott, noted that over the past four years the company has seen “tremendous growth” within Canada. “With our Canadian headquarters officially open and Canadian-made mattresses now shipping, we’re excited to deepen our local roots and commitment to the market,” she stated.
Casper recently announced the close of $100 million USD in new funding to fuel the company’s category leadership. The company also raised $13.1 million USD in August from NEA, Ron Conway’s SV Angel, and Slow Ventures, among others.The company already has its own standalone stores, as well as retail partnerships with Indigo, EQ3, and the Hudson’s Bay.
Image courtesy Casper.